1st knife for a tween?

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maxxpup

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Youngster in the family prepares meals fairly often. Has been asking for their own knife.
It would be mostly for veggies, would like to keep under a $100.
Any suggestions woulds be appreciated.
 
At this price level you may have a very decent carbon monosteel 210mm yo-gyuto. Make sure to give it a first sharpening as most factory edges are poor — not only with cheap carbons, believe me.
Recently found a Kanetsune KC702 for €55 including our VAT on Amazon France. It came with a crazy chisel edge. After a bit of work it has become one of my favourites in its size, with a handle on par with a Misono.
Most yo-gyuotos are strongly right-biased.
 
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I think the Kyohei Shindo blades offer some of the best bang for the buck. Amazing sharpness out of the box and retains a great edge. I love my Funayuki as a general utility knife that is not too large. I bought mine at Tokusu Knife and was very satisfied.

​

 
 
maybe i’m crazy but i would not give anyone a carbon knife for a first. would recommend those tsunehisa ginsans as I think they’re super valuable for the price. if it were me, I would have given myself one of those cheap 2 rivet tojiros for $30
 
If the kid is already demonstrating enough responsibility to handle a knife and prepping meals, I would absolutely skip the lowest tier and go to the next up like the Tsunehisa. The ginsan helps offset some of that responsibility though and let's them focus on caring for a nicer tool. The Tsuneshisa is a knife they can grow with and will last many satisfying years.

I'd soon focus on sharpening.
 
Last edited:
HumbleHomeCook said:
If the kid is already demonstrating enough responsibility to handle a knife and prepping meals, I would absolutely skip the lowest tier and go to the next up like the Tsunehisa. The ginsan helps offset some of that responsibility though and let's them focus on caring for a nicer tool. The Tsuneshisa is a knife they can grow with and will last many satisfying years.

I'd soon focus on sharpening.
Click to expand...
Great points. I wish someone had taught me how to sharpen a blade. As an adult, the idea now seems intimidating.
 
Qapla' said:
What do you think of these?
https://www.hocho-knife.com/fujitora-dp-3layered-vg10-chef-knife-gyuto-210mm/
https://www.hocho-knife.com/sakai-takayuki-tus-steel-chef-knife-gyuto-210mm/

If lefty, what do you think of this?
https://www.hocho-knife.com/left-ha...v-stainless-japanese-chefs-gyuto-knife-210mm/

If carbon-steel is acceptable, what do you think of these?
https://www.**************.com/tsskgy21.html (It's at Chef Knives To Go.)
https://www.hocho-knife.com/sabun-all-steel-hand-finished-chef-knife-gyuto-210mm/
Click to expand...
I like those 1st two.

I'm barely responsible enough to care for a carbon knife soooo.... probably no on the last one. What a great value though.
 
IMG_5561.jpeg

🥰🥰🥰
 
I was in a sorta similar situation, though my kid was a bit younger. I didn't find anything that matched exactly what I was looking for from the mass produced budget knives. I ended up getting a pair of customs from @MSicardCutlery instead. These were aeb-l, which I consider a step up from the VG10 or AUS8 you typically find in the sub-$100 gyutos, and Matt's aggressive grind is also a nice upgrade over the stock factory grinds. Cost was similar or maybe just a little more than what I'd expect to pay for a budget knife.

He offers handles also, but I opted to make my own.

PXL_20230729_164822437~2.jpg
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
If the kid is already demonstrating enough responsibility to handle a knife and prepping meals, I would absolutely skip the lowest tier and go to the next up like the Tsunehisa. The ginsan helps offset some of that responsibility though and let's them focus on caring for a nicer tool. The Tsuneshisa is a knife they can grow with and will last many satisfying years.

I'd soon focus on sharpening.
Click to expand...
Agreed! I think that's especially true if sharpening is in sight. I found it so much easier to learn when sharpening a $180 white #2 gyuto I got for my 15th birthday. I had already been sharpening knives locally for four years by then, but my understanding of burr formation/removal improved drastically when working with carbon steel, and I was able to expand my skillset into thinning and polishing as well. It fit my needs perfectly, and because of that, I cared for it really well.
 
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